Upgraded to the latest version of dasBlog as well to keep the crap out.

What is wrong with these people?

Blog Spam... Sigh.http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,b9bd3adf-b5e7-4398-b4f2-6fbe552e98dd.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,b9bd3adf-b5e7-4398-b4f2-6fbe552e98dd.aspx
Thu, 16 Jun 2005 20:56:55 GMT<p>
Wasted a good hour cleaning all the blog spam out of my blog.
</p>
<p>
Upgraded to the latest version of dasBlog as well to keep the crap out.
</p>
<p>
What is wrong with these people?
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=b9bd3adf-b5e7-4398-b4f2-6fbe552e98dd" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,b9bd3adf-b5e7-4398-b4f2-6fbe552e98dd.aspxDrivelSpamhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=b3353768-1163-4f29-aac2-28b5b13776f3http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,b3353768-1163-4f29-aac2-28b5b13776f3.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,b3353768-1163-4f29-aac2-28b5b13776f3.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=b3353768-1163-4f29-aac2-28b5b13776f3

Been a long while since I've posted to the blog - and no, I still haven't finished
the Kili picture site. I will one of these days.

So here's a recap of the fun post-Kili:

Back in November I got together with all the DotNetRocks folks
for a little party and we invited along some friends - about thirty people showed
up in Las Vegas for some laughs and a first screening of DotNetRocks: The Movie. It
was about that time that DNR reorganized, cutting back to one hour and focusing on
a more serious interview approach to the show. The silly stuff (which includes me
as the ToyBoy) moved over to a new show called Mondays
- What Sunday Threw Up.

This year Christmas and New Years were low key events - last year the fam went to
Costa Rica, which was good fun, but not exactly winter time any more. My favorite
goodie for Christmas was a new set of chef's knives. Yeah I know, its weird, not a
tech toy at all, but I already got lots of 'em, and everyone has given up trying to
buy them for me, I'm too particular. But a good Heckel knife, well, that's a great
gift.

So what's coming up? Well, DNR's 100th show is coming and I've been invited to reminisce
with Carl and the gang. There's a new tour on Interoperability coming too. And I've
got a whole bunch of crazy new hardware to set up. And then there's some really important
stuff (see next post).

Dustin' Off the Ole Blog...http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,b3353768-1163-4f29-aac2-28b5b13776f3.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,b3353768-1163-4f29-aac2-28b5b13776f3.aspx
Sun, 23 Jan 2005 16:00:10 GMT<p>
Been a long while since I've posted to the blog - and no, I still haven't finished
the Kili picture site. I will one of these days.
</p>
<p>
So here's a recap of the fun post-Kili:
</p>
<p>
Back in November I got together with all the <a href="http://www.franklins.net/dotnetrocks/">DotNetRocks</a> folks
for a little party and we invited along some friends - about thirty people showed
up in Las Vegas for some laughs and a first screening of DotNetRocks: The Movie. It
was about that time that DNR reorganized, cutting back to one hour and focusing on
a more serious interview approach to the show. The silly stuff (which includes me
as the ToyBoy) moved over to a new show called <a href="http://mondays.pwop.com/">Mondays
- What Sunday Threw Up</a>.
</p>
<p>
Also in November my buddy <a href="http://weblogs.asp.net/Jsemeniuk/Default.aspx">Joel
Semeniuk</a> dropped into Vancouver to do a <a href="http://www.netbc.ca/DNCal/EventDetail.aspx?date=2004/11/23">presentation
on Smart Client Development to the local users groups</a>. Which was helpful for me,
because I'd do the same presentation to the <a href="http://www.vicdotnet.org/">Victoria
.NET Users Group</a> the following week.
</p>
<p>
This year Christmas and New Years were low key events - last year the fam went to
Costa Rica, which was good fun, but not exactly winter time any more. My favorite
goodie for Christmas was a new set of chef's knives. Yeah I know, its weird, not a
tech toy at all, but I already got lots of 'em, and everyone has given up trying to
buy them for me, I'm too particular. But a good Heckel knife, well, that's a great
gift.
</p>
<p>
So what's coming up? Well, DNR's 100th show is coming and I've been invited to reminisce
with Carl and the gang. There's a new tour on Interoperability coming too. And I've
got a whole bunch of crazy new hardware to set up. And then there's some really important
stuff (see next post).
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=b3353768-1163-4f29-aac2-28b5b13776f3" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,b3353768-1163-4f29-aac2-28b5b13776f3.aspxDrivelSpeakinghttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=60732934-a5a2-498c-a67f-bc1466fd8751http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,60732934-a5a2-498c-a67f-bc1466fd8751.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,60732934-a5a2-498c-a67f-bc1466fd8751.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=60732934-a5a2-498c-a67f-bc1466fd8751

In case you haven't heard, yes, I did summit Kilimanjaro with my friends (some old
and some new).

Here's a shot of me at the top, there's lots more to sort out, I'll keep you posted.

Home and Kili-Bagged...http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,60732934-a5a2-498c-a67f-bc1466fd8751.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,60732934-a5a2-498c-a67f-bc1466fd8751.aspx
Tue, 26 Oct 2004 17:44:43 GMT<p>
In case you haven't heard, yes, I did summit Kilimanjaro with my friends (some old
and some new).
</p>
<p>
Here's a shot of me at the top, there's lots more to sort out, I'll keep you posted.
</p>
<img src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/content/binary/PA152798%20(Small).JPG" border=0><img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=60732934-a5a2-498c-a67f-bc1466fd8751" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,60732934-a5a2-498c-a67f-bc1466fd8751.aspxDrivelTravelhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=5867ab46-cbe3-4063-a61c-108d0b3cb818http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,5867ab46-cbe3-4063-a61c-108d0b3cb818.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,5867ab46-cbe3-4063-a61c-108d0b3cb818.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=5867ab46-cbe3-4063-a61c-108d0b3cb8184

Its a busy weekend for me, making sure I have all my gear ready to climb Kilimanjaro.

I've gotten awfully lazy as a traveller over the years, used to being able to buy
whatever I'm missing when I get where I'm going... not so in Tanzania. So, unlike
my usual behavior of packing a couple of hours before leaving, now I'm inventorying
and test packing everything five days before I go. Weird.

I've decided not to bring a laptop along on the trip, but I do have my digital camera
and picture dumper, so I'll be able to take lots of photos. I guess I'm going to have
to bring a notebook and pen too, and write stuff down by hand along the way... at
least the battery life of paper is good.

Last weekend before Kilimanjaro...http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,5867ab46-cbe3-4063-a61c-108d0b3cb818.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,5867ab46-cbe3-4063-a61c-108d0b3cb818.aspx
Sat, 02 Oct 2004 21:01:35 GMT<p>
Its a busy weekend for me, making sure I have all my gear ready to climb Kilimanjaro.
</p>
<p>
There are twelve people going in all, including my friends <a href="http://www.stephenforte.net/owdasblog/">Steve
Forte</a>, <a href="http://www.ssw.com.au">Adam Cogan</a>, <a href="http://www.pdsa.com/">Paul
Sheriff</a> (and his wife Anne).
</p>
<p>
I've gotten awfully lazy as a traveller over the years, used to being able to buy
whatever I'm missing when I get where I'm going... not so in Tanzania. So, unlike
my usual behavior of packing a couple of hours before leaving, now I'm inventorying
and test packing everything five days before I go. Weird.
</p>
<p>
I've decided not to bring a laptop along on the trip, but I do have my digital camera
and picture dumper, so I'll be able to take lots of photos. I guess I'm going to have
to bring a notebook and pen too, and write stuff down by hand along the way... at
least the battery life of paper is good.
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=5867ab46-cbe3-4063-a61c-108d0b3cb818" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,5867ab46-cbe3-4063-a61c-108d0b3cb818.aspxDrivelTravelhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=468a4e02-31bd-49e4-832b-438994e4abadhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,468a4e02-31bd-49e4-832b-438994e4abad.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,468a4e02-31bd-49e4-832b-438994e4abad.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=468a4e02-31bd-49e4-832b-438994e4abad2

Kim Tripp, Clemens
Vasters, Goksin Bakir, Christain Weyer and I all went out yesterday (Tuesday)
to take a look around Seattle. The weather was just plain nasty, so we went for indoor
type things.

In the end, we went to the Museum of Flight and did a tour of the Boeing 747 factory
in Everett.

Kim Tripp, the Gadget Girl herself, has this groovy navigation system in her SUV...
the discussion turned to making a business out of improved voice communication for
navigation.

Clemens is an advocate of the sexy female approach, so that when you miss a turn,
the system says “Don't worry baby, I know you'll get us back on track.”

Kim is on the mother-in-law side of things... “You idiot! Turn around right
now! I'm not calculating another route for you!”

Methinks this week's ToyBoy spot on DNR is going to be over the top...

Touring Toys...http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,468a4e02-31bd-49e4-832b-438994e4abad.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,468a4e02-31bd-49e4-832b-438994e4abad.aspx
Wed, 25 Aug 2004 18:20:00 GMT<p>
<a href="http://www.sqlskills.com/blogs/kimberly/">Kim Tripp</a>, <a href="http://staff.newtelligence.net/clemensv/">Clemens
Vasters</a>, Goksin Bakir, Christain Weyer and I all went out yesterday (Tuesday)
to take a look around Seattle. The weather was just plain nasty, so we went for indoor
type things.
</p>
<p>
In the end, we went to the Museum of Flight and did a tour of the Boeing 747 factory
in Everett.
</p>
<p>
Kim Tripp, the Gadget Girl herself, has this groovy navigation system in her SUV...
the discussion turned to making a business out of improved voice communication for
navigation.
</p>
<p>
Clemens is an advocate of the sexy female approach, so that when you miss a turn,
the system says &#8220;Don't worry baby, I know you'll get us back on track.&#8221;
</p>
<p>
Kim is on the mother-in-law side of things... &#8220;You idiot! Turn around right
now! I'm not calculating another route for you!&#8221;
</p>
<p>
Methinks this week's ToyBoy spot on DNR is going to be over the top...<br>
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=468a4e02-31bd-49e4-832b-438994e4abad" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,468a4e02-31bd-49e4-832b-438994e4abad.aspxDrivelToysTravelhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=d86db2a7-0dd3-4952-8a33-e189f68eac46http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,d86db2a7-0dd3-4952-8a33-e189f68eac46.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,d86db2a7-0dd3-4952-8a33-e189f68eac46.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=d86db2a7-0dd3-4952-8a33-e189f68eac46

I'm down in Redmond hanging with Kim Tripp, aka The Gadget Girl.

Microsoft is throwing an evangelism party, and all us crazy evangelistic RDs are invited,
along with lots of Microsoft folks.

Kim was nice enough to invite a few folks out for a day before the show started, and
offer to put me up for the night... since I'm only a couple of hours drive away, I
didn't have to fly, which is always good.

Apparently I'm not the only one that's toy crazy. We're having fun comparing our various
gadgets.

More to come, I'm sure.

Toy Boy hangs with Gadget Girl...http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,d86db2a7-0dd3-4952-8a33-e189f68eac46.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,d86db2a7-0dd3-4952-8a33-e189f68eac46.aspx
Tue, 24 Aug 2004 06:51:27 GMT<p>
I'm down in Redmond hanging with Kim Tripp, aka The Gadget Girl.
</p>
<p>
Microsoft is throwing an evangelism party, and all us crazy evangelistic RDs are invited,
along with lots of Microsoft folks.
</p>
<p>
Kim was nice enough to invite a few folks out for a day before the show started, and
offer to put me up for the night... since I'm only a couple of hours drive away, I
didn't have to fly, which is always good.
</p>
<p>
Apparently I'm not the only one that's toy crazy. We're having fun comparing our various
gadgets.
</p>
<p>
More to come, I'm sure.
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=d86db2a7-0dd3-4952-8a33-e189f68eac46" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,d86db2a7-0dd3-4952-8a33-e189f68eac46.aspxDrivelToyshttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=8c052e88-5e99-4b4f-8dda-8ecc54703d91http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,8c052e88-5e99-4b4f-8dda-8ecc54703d91.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,8c052e88-5e99-4b4f-8dda-8ecc54703d91.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=8c052e88-5e99-4b4f-8dda-8ecc54703d913

Well, Carl's really gone and done it this time.

Microsoft is providing a Toshiba
M200 Tablet PC as a prize to be given away sweepstakes style live on the
DotNetRock's show August 26th.

And don't worry, I'll still be on every week near the end of the show to talk about
a cool new toy, and a not so cool toy.

A Toshiba Tablet Give Away on DotNetRocks!http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,8c052e88-5e99-4b4f-8dda-8ecc54703d91.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,8c052e88-5e99-4b4f-8dda-8ecc54703d91.aspx
Wed, 28 Jul 2004 06:49:46 GMT<p>
Well, Carl's really gone and done it this time.
</p>
<p>
Microsoft is providing a <a href="http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?coid=-26373&amp;sel=0&amp;rcid=-26367&amp;ccid=1291021&amp;seg=HHO&amp;sel=1">Toshiba
M200 Tablet PC</a>&nbsp;as a prize to be given away sweepstakes style live on the
DotNetRock's show August 26th.
</p>
<p>
All you gotta do is fill in a form. Find out the particular's at the <a href="http://www.franklins.net/dnrforms/tabletcontest.aspx">DotNetRocks
web site</a>.
</p>
<p>
The prize draw is now less than a month away! Woohoo!
</p>
<p>
And don't worry, I'll still be on every week near the end of the show to talk about
a cool new toy, and a not so cool toy.
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=8c052e88-5e99-4b4f-8dda-8ecc54703d91" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,8c052e88-5e99-4b4f-8dda-8ecc54703d91.aspxDrivelToyshttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=f74363ec-7ad5-4756-9158-98e1629e5a41http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,f74363ec-7ad5-4756-9158-98e1629e5a41.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,f74363ec-7ad5-4756-9158-98e1629e5a41.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=f74363ec-7ad5-4756-9158-98e1629e5a413

My friend Kent Alstad talked me into joining his team for the ReelFast
Film Festival. The idea is for a team of up to ten people to write, shoot and
edit a film of ten minutes or less in 48 hours using an “inspiration package.”

The concept is elegantly simple and very cool. To enter, you fill in an application
form, cough up $250 and create an inspiration package. The inspiration package contains:

a sound bite

a photograph

a location idea

a surprise (typically a prop)

a food donation for ten people

So the contest starts on Friday, August 13th at 5pm. You pick up your package and
then you have 48 hours to return a completed film. Our general plan is to write the
script Friday night, shoot all Saturday and edit all Sunday.

So Kent, being the brilliant and wise project manager that he is, pulled the team
together this weekend for a dry run. He's collected lots of advice from experienced
film folks as well as ReelFast veterans. The idea was to do an end-to-end test of
our system, using a script that has a few scenes, shooting them and editing them into
a rough cut, just to see how long things take and how difficult they are. We learned
a ton of stuff.

Kent went out and picked up a second-hand Steadicam
Jr. off of EBay, which makes a world of difference in the quality of the filming.
Handheld cameras are too jerky, and tripod mounted cameras offer too many limits for
shots... being able to walk beside an actor as they walk without jerking all over
the place is amazing. For a few hundred dollars, it sure changes the look of your
home movies.

ReelFast Film Festival...http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,f74363ec-7ad5-4756-9158-98e1629e5a41.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,f74363ec-7ad5-4756-9158-98e1629e5a41.aspx
Sun, 25 Jul 2004 18:22:50 GMT<p>
My friend Kent Alstad talked me into joining his team for the <a href="http://www.reelfastfilms.com/">ReelFast
Film Festival</a>. The idea is for a team of up to ten people to write, shoot and
edit a film of ten minutes or less in 48 hours using an &#8220;inspiration package.&#8221;
</p>
<p>
The concept is elegantly simple and very cool. To enter, you fill in an application
form, cough up $250 and create an inspiration package. The inspiration package contains:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
a sound bite</li>
<li>
a photograph</li>
<li>
a location idea</li>
<li>
a surprise (typically a prop)</li>
<li>
a food donation for ten people</li>
</ul>
<p>
So the contest starts on Friday, August 13th at 5pm. You pick up your package and
then you have 48 hours to return a completed film. Our general plan is to write the
script Friday night, shoot all Saturday and edit all Sunday.
</p>
<p>
So Kent, being the brilliant and wise project manager that he is, pulled the team
together this weekend for a dry run. He's collected lots of advice from experienced
film folks as well as ReelFast veterans. The idea was to do an end-to-end test of
our system, using a script that has a few scenes, shooting them and editing them into
a rough cut, just to see how long things take and how difficult they are. We learned
a ton of stuff.
</p>
<p>
Kent went out and picked up a second-hand <a href="http://www.steadicam.com/prohh_jr.htm">Steadicam
Jr.</a> off of EBay, which makes a world of difference in the quality of the filming.
Handheld cameras are too jerky, and tripod mounted cameras offer too many limits for
shots... being able to walk beside an actor as they walk without jerking all over
the place is amazing. For a few hundred dollars, it sure changes the look of your
home movies.
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=f74363ec-7ad5-4756-9158-98e1629e5a41" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,f74363ec-7ad5-4756-9158-98e1629e5a41.aspxDrivelToyshttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=20382d3c-eac3-4c62-9866-fa4198dbbad0http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,20382d3c-eac3-4c62-9866-fa4198dbbad0.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,20382d3c-eac3-4c62-9866-fa4198dbbad0.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=20382d3c-eac3-4c62-9866-fa4198dbbad04

There's been plenty of kafuffle lately over how development jobs are getting outsourced
to other countries... but I see no downside to this, no matter which way it goes.

The reality of development, even now, is that the majority of software development
projects fail. Back in 1994, the Standish Group wrote The
Chaos Report, which was an evaluation of 365 groups of people covering 8,380 applications.
Of those projects, 31.3% of them were cancelled before completion. 52.7% of the projects
went more than 189% of their original cost estimates. Only 16.2% of projects were
completed on-time and on-budget. So depending on how you measure failure, you can
choose between 30% and 80% of software projects being considered a failure.

Now that was ten years ago, and the Standish Group continues to publish the Chaos
Report, they just charge
a bundle for it. But some folks that have paid the money say that in
ten years, things have improved. Outright failures (project cancellations) have
dropped to 15%. Still, its not a trivial failure rate. And there are plenty of other
reports to reflect the on-going problems with building software.

These reports all say the same thing. Project don't fail because of inadequate technology,
or even inadequate programmers - they fail from bad planning. Lousy requirements,
poor tracking methods, weak quality assurance, and so on... in the end, its all bad
project management problems. Computers can do the work, and programmers can (usually)
write half decent code, but getting them to write the right things is problematic.

This issue only gets amplified when you go to offshore development. If you don't have
a plan to handle the logistics of the project, you're going to have just as a big
failure offshore as you did on. Maybe it'll cost you less, but its still a failure.

Some folks talk about the need for architects, but I think the local role in an offshore
project is bigger than that - the requirements gathering, project progress tracking
and quality assurance evaluation represent a ton of work. And, as with all projects,
as soon as something is built, it needs to be changed, so there's more work in dealing
with the changes. And if these things aren't being handled well, you're going to fail.

But suppose (and this is a big supposition) that you do get your application successfully
built using outsourced developers. In fact, suppose (and this is REALLY a big supposition)
that all these applications get built perfectly. What then? Well, there's still plenty
of work building better apps. Its not like there's any shortage of software to be
built. Most companies I know are only willing to talk about the one application they
need right now because its so hard to get anything finished. But when you drill deep
into their plans, you see dozens of prospective applications.

Reducing the cost and increasing the speed in which applications can be built can
only be good for our industry - it means MORE work, not less.

So, regardless of how the outsourcing movement works out, it can only be good - if
it fails, we're back where we started, still trying to build applications because
its hard. And if it succeeds, we're going to build more, better applications.

Of course, this is all roses and sunshine as long as you aren't the programmer getting
laid off because your company is outsourcing development. There aren't any easy answers
for you... including blaming the loss of your job on outsourcing. This isn't the first
time jobs have been shuffled, and its not the last. And as for that “of course
its easy for you, you're not the one being laid off” argument... grow up. I'm
not being laid off because I work for myself, and I stay focused on having an effective
return on investment for my customers. If you did the same, you'd be fine too - self-employed
or working for someone else. Valuable people stay busy - there's always more work
than time.

Why Outsourcing is Good for the Software Development Industryhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,20382d3c-eac3-4c62-9866-fa4198dbbad0.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,20382d3c-eac3-4c62-9866-fa4198dbbad0.aspx
Wed, 07 Jul 2004 23:43:20 GMT<p>
There's been plenty of kafuffle lately over how development jobs are getting outsourced
to other countries... but I see no downside to this, no matter which way it goes.
</p>
<p>
The reality of development, even now, is that the majority of software development
projects fail. Back in 1994, <a href="http://www.standishgroup.com">the Standish Group</a> wrote <a href="http://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research/chaos_1994_1.php">The
Chaos Report</a>, which was an evaluation of 365 groups of people covering 8,380 applications.
Of those projects, 31.3% of them were cancelled before completion. 52.7% of the projects
went more than 189% of their original cost estimates. Only 16.2% of projects were
completed on-time and on-budget. So depending on how you measure failure, you can
choose between 30% and 80% of software projects being considered a failure.
</p>
<p>
Now that was ten years ago, and the Standish Group continues to publish the Chaos
Report, they just <a href="https://secure.standishgroup.com/reports/reports.php?rid=500">charge
a bundle for it</a>. But some folks that have paid the money say that <a href="http://www.softwaremag.com/L.cfm?Doc=newsletter/2004-01-15/Standish">in
ten years, things have improved.</a> Outright failures (project cancellations) have
dropped to 15%. Still, its not a trivial failure rate. And there are plenty of <a href="http://www.it-cortex.com/Stat_Failure_Rate.htm">other
reports</a> to reflect the on-going problems with building software.
</p>
<p>
These reports all say the same thing. Project don't fail because of inadequate technology,
or even inadequate programmers - they fail from bad planning. Lousy requirements,
poor tracking methods, weak quality assurance, and so on... in the end, its all bad
project management problems. Computers can do the work, and programmers can (usually)
write half decent code, but getting them to write the right things is problematic.
</p>
<p>
This issue only gets amplified when you go to offshore development. If you don't have
a plan to handle the logistics of the project, you're going to have just as a big
failure offshore as you did on. Maybe it'll cost you less, but its still a failure.
</p>
<p>
Some folks talk about the need for architects, but I think the local role in an offshore
project is bigger than that - the requirements gathering, project progress tracking
and&nbsp;quality assurance evaluation represent a ton of work. And, as with all projects,
as soon as something is built, it needs to be changed, so there's more work in dealing
with the changes. And if these things aren't being handled well, you're going to fail.
</p>
<p>
But suppose (and this is a big supposition) that you do get your application successfully
built using outsourced developers. In fact, suppose (and this is REALLY a big supposition)
that all these applications get built perfectly. What then? Well, there's still plenty
of work building better apps. Its not like there's any shortage of software to be
built. Most companies I know are only willing to talk about the one application they
need right now because its so hard to get anything finished. But when you drill deep
into their plans, you see dozens of prospective applications.
</p>
<p>
Reducing the cost and increasing the speed in which applications can be built can
only be good for our industry - it means MORE work, not less.
</p>
<p>
So, regardless of how the outsourcing movement works out, it can only be good - if
it fails, we're back where we started, still trying to build applications because
its hard. And if it succeeds, we're going to build more, better applications.
</p>
<p>
Of course, this is all roses and sunshine as long as you aren't the programmer getting
laid off because your company is outsourcing development. There aren't any easy answers
for you... including blaming the loss of your job on outsourcing. This isn't the first
time jobs have been shuffled, and its not the last. And as for that &#8220;of course
its easy for you, you're not the one being laid off&#8221; argument... grow up. I'm
not being laid off because I work for myself, and I stay focused on having an effective
return on investment for my customers. If you did the same, you'd be fine too - self-employed
or working for someone else. Valuable people stay busy - there's always more work
than time.
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=20382d3c-eac3-4c62-9866-fa4198dbbad0" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,20382d3c-eac3-4c62-9866-fa4198dbbad0.aspxDevelopmentDrivelOutsourcinghttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=984aa442-19df-4f1d-b2f0-a4e046da5e6chttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,984aa442-19df-4f1d-b2f0-a4e046da5e6c.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,984aa442-19df-4f1d-b2f0-a4e046da5e6c.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=984aa442-19df-4f1d-b2f0-a4e046da5e6c1

The power of the ITU comes from its international nature - that an agreement between
members of the ITU essentially means agreements between all countries. This essentially
eliminates the ability of spammers to hide in offshore servers: there are no offshore
servers as far as the ITU is concerned.

This is only the first meeting, but considering the players, I'm expecting real moves
to be made world wide against spam. Its gotta stop. Even the ITU says that 85% of
all email is spam. The epidemic has spread to cell phones too - in Japan the majority
of spam is now cell phone text messages.

I survive spam with a combination of Outlook 2003 with its Junk Mail settings turned
on High and Qurb. I get a couple of hundred “pure” spam a day, plus 30
or so Qurb mail. So I'm surviving. Near as I can tell, the regular mortals in this
world are abandoning email addresses on a regular basis to escape the scourge. In
reality, I see email slowly dying under the weight of spam... people are turning to
alternatives like instant messaging rather than bother with the cesspool that their
inboxes have become.

Its time that the experts came to bear against spam.

Bringing Major Players to Bear Against Spam...http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,984aa442-19df-4f1d-b2f0-a4e046da5e6c.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,984aa442-19df-4f1d-b2f0-a4e046da5e6c.aspx
Tue, 06 Jul 2004 23:13:33 GMT<p>
The <a href="http://www.itu.int/home/index.html">International Telecommunication Union</a> (ITU)
is finally wading in on the spam situation, <a href="http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2004/Advisory-08.html">holding
meetings in Geneva about countering spam</a>. Not heard of the ITU? If you've made
a long distance call from one country to another, you've benefitted from their work.
</p>
<p>
The power of the ITU comes from its international nature - that an agreement between
members of the ITU essentially means agreements between all countries. This essentially
eliminates the ability of spammers to hide in offshore servers: there are no offshore
servers as far as the ITU is concerned.
</p>
<p>
This is only the first meeting, but considering the players, I'm expecting real moves
to be made world wide against spam. Its gotta stop. Even the ITU says that 85% of
all email is spam. The epidemic has spread to cell phones too - in Japan the majority
of spam is now cell phone text messages.
</p>
<p>
I survive spam with a combination of Outlook 2003 with its Junk Mail settings turned
on High and Qurb. I get a couple of hundred &#8220;pure&#8221; spam a day, plus 30
or so Qurb mail. So I'm surviving. Near as I can tell, the regular mortals in this
world are abandoning email addresses on a regular basis to escape the scourge. In
reality, I see email slowly dying under the weight of spam... people are turning to
alternatives like instant messaging rather than bother with the cesspool that their
inboxes have become.
</p>
<p>
Its time that the experts came to bear against spam.
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=984aa442-19df-4f1d-b2f0-a4e046da5e6c" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,984aa442-19df-4f1d-b2f0-a4e046da5e6c.aspxDrivelSpamhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=1de63bcd-2acf-4abf-b44a-fee8ff0918c3http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,1de63bcd-2acf-4abf-b44a-fee8ff0918c3.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,1de63bcd-2acf-4abf-b44a-fee8ff0918c3.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=1de63bcd-2acf-4abf-b44a-fee8ff0918c33

So a few weeks ago I bought a new laptop, one of the Dell
XPS tanks. Its a monster, but the performance is untouchable. And I can stand
all the teasing by my fellow RDs, they just wish theirs was so big.

But it had this weird little foible... some web pages rendered really poorly. The
fonts were all jagged, and sometimes it painted incredibly slowly. In some cases,
web pages were just plain messed up. And I just put up with it - it wasn't that
important to me to fix.

So then a friend of mine bought a Dell, partly on my recommendation. No, he didn't
buy the XPS, it bought something a bit more moderate. In fact, the only thing his
machine has in common with mine is that they're both Dells. Different processor, video
card, etc, etc... but he has the exact same screen rendering problem!

However, not as patient as I, he insisted there must be an answer. I figured since
we both have the problem, it had to be something in the default Dell configuration.
Its a reasonable assumption, but finding out what could be almost impossible. I suggested
that we could just blow the drives and do scratch installs of XP (something I'm prone
to doing anyway, just to be sure), expecting that the problem would go away.

Maybe a half hour later, he IMs me - in the Advanced display settings there's an option
for Large fonts. It increases the default font sizes of everything on your machine
by 25%. And for Dell laptops with high resolution screens (like this awesome 1920x1200
screen), its set to large by default. Setting it back to normal got rid of the problem,
and the fonts are really small on the screen. However, more importantly, everything
is rendering normally, and nice and fast.

Why put up with tech not just the way you want it?

Why sometimes intolerance is a virtue...http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,1de63bcd-2acf-4abf-b44a-fee8ff0918c3.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,1de63bcd-2acf-4abf-b44a-fee8ff0918c3.aspx
Wed, 02 Jun 2004 21:07:22 GMT<p>
So a few weeks ago I bought a new laptop, one of the <a href="http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_xps?c=us&amp;cs=19&amp;l=en&amp;s=dhs">Dell
XPS tanks</a>. Its a monster, but the performance is untouchable. And I can stand
all the teasing by my fellow RDs, they just wish theirs was so big.
</p>
<p>
But it had this weird little foible... some web pages rendered really poorly. The
fonts were all jagged, and sometimes it painted incredibly slowly. In some cases,
web pages were just plain messed up.&nbsp;And I just put up with it - it wasn't that
important to me to fix.
</p>
<p>
So then a friend of mine bought a Dell, partly on my recommendation. No, he didn't
buy the XPS, it bought something a bit more moderate. In fact, the only thing his
machine has in common with mine is that they're both Dells. Different processor, video
card, etc, etc... but he has the exact same screen rendering problem!
</p>
<p>
However, not as patient as I, he insisted there must be an answer. I figured since
we both have the problem, it had to be something in the default Dell configuration.
Its a reasonable assumption, but finding out what could be almost impossible. I suggested
that we could just blow the drives and do scratch installs of XP (something I'm prone
to doing anyway, just to be sure), expecting that the problem would go away.
</p>
<p>
Maybe a half hour later, he IMs me - in the Advanced display settings there's an option
for Large fonts. It increases the default font sizes of everything on your machine
by 25%. And for Dell laptops with high resolution screens (like this awesome 1920x1200
screen), its set to large by default. Setting it back to normal got rid of the problem,
and the fonts are really small on the screen. However, more importantly, everything
is rendering normally, and nice and fast.
</p>
<p>
Why put up with tech not just the way you want it?
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=1de63bcd-2acf-4abf-b44a-fee8ff0918c3" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,1de63bcd-2acf-4abf-b44a-fee8ff0918c3.aspxDrivelToyshttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=958f3521-d8f0-4ec3-965e-e253be5225cbhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,958f3521-d8f0-4ec3-965e-e253be5225cb.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,958f3521-d8f0-4ec3-965e-e253be5225cb.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=958f3521-d8f0-4ec3-965e-e253be5225cb1

Steve Forte is a bit
upset at the 9/11 Commission over its criticism of the rescue workers at the World
Trade Center (and I say that with typical Canadian understatement). I can certainly
appreciate why he's angry, I think its a bit too close and personal for him.

On one hand, you have to admit that there's no point in putting together a commission
to say “hey, we handled this brilliantly“... the idea is to learn how
things could have been handled better. But I would debate whether there is any way
to handle people crashing 767s into buildings more effectively. In fact, I would debate
that there is even a need to figure out a better way.

For starters, until 9/11, hijackings were pretty darn survivable. With few exceptions,
passengers on the hijacked airliner usually walk away unscathed. So it was in the
passengers best interest to just sit back, wait it out, and stay low. But once these
nutballs starting using the aircraft as a weapon, all bets are off - you're gonna
die anyway, why not take 'em with you? I suspect that hijacking is pretty much obsolete
now, no one is going to attempt it when you can virtually guarantee that the entire
aircraft will go after you.

So no one had done such a thing before, and no one is likely to ever do such a thing
again, so what possibility is there in trying to improve on handling it?

What surprised me more than anything was the gallery folks angry with Giuliani. What
could he have done differently? What could he possibly do about it now? It shocks
me that 30 months after losing their loved ones, people are still angry. As someone
who has lost immediate family on more than one occasion, you only get to grieve properly
once you get past the anger. If these folks are still that focused on the deaths,
they've basically been frozen in time for two and a half years. Is this what these
people died for? So that you can stay angry?

The best way to remember a loved one you've lost is to live, and live well.

9/11 Commission...http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,958f3521-d8f0-4ec3-965e-e253be5225cb.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,958f3521-d8f0-4ec3-965e-e253be5225cb.aspx
Thu, 20 May 2004 19:19:31 GMT<p>
Steve Forte is a <a href="http://www.stephenforte.net/owdasblog/PermaLink.aspx?guid=a4e4f4ca-c173-4f9f-9fcc-f6177d38d4f5">bit
upset</a> at the 9/11 Commission over its criticism of the rescue workers at the World
Trade Center (and I say that with typical Canadian understatement). I can certainly
appreciate why he's angry, I think its a bit too close and personal for him.
</p>
<p>
On one hand, you have to admit that there's no point in putting together a commission
to say &#8220;hey, we handled this brilliantly&#8220;... the idea is to learn how
things could have been handled better. But I would debate whether there is any way
to handle people crashing 767s into buildings more effectively. In fact, I would debate
that there is even a need to figure out a better way.
</p>
<p>
For starters, until 9/11, hijackings were pretty darn survivable. With few exceptions,
passengers on the hijacked airliner usually walk away unscathed. So it was in the
passengers best interest to just sit back, wait it out, and stay low. But once these
nutballs starting using the aircraft as a weapon, all bets are off - you're gonna
die anyway, why not take 'em with you? I suspect that hijacking is pretty much obsolete
now, no one is going to attempt it when you can virtually guarantee that the entire
aircraft will go after you.
</p>
<p>
So no one had done such a thing before, and no one is likely to ever do such a thing
again, so what possibility is there in trying to improve on handling it?
</p>
<p>
What surprised me more than anything was the gallery folks angry with Giuliani. What
could he have done differently? What could he possibly do about it now? It shocks
me that 30 months after losing their loved ones, people are still angry. As someone
who has lost immediate family on more than one occasion, you only get to grieve properly
once you get past the anger. If these folks are still that focused on the deaths,
they've basically been frozen in time for two and a half years. Is this what these
people died for? So that you can stay angry?
</p>
<p>
The best way to remember a loved one you've lost is to live, and live well.
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=958f3521-d8f0-4ec3-965e-e253be5225cb" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,958f3521-d8f0-4ec3-965e-e253be5225cb.aspxDrivelhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=682249a8-7cf2-4c53-a74e-2f6d6cea1795http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/pingback.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,682249a8-7cf2-4c53-a74e-2f6d6cea1795.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,682249a8-7cf2-4c53-a74e-2f6d6cea1795.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=682249a8-7cf2-4c53-a74e-2f6d6cea1795

I can't believe its really come to this. I've always considered blogs a plague, just
the vomit of the masses upon the Internet. Now its my turn to hurl.

I didn't give in easily. Oh no, I mocked with the best of them.

Pressure from my friends, from the Regional Director's program, from the industry
as a whole... what's up with all this blogging?

I'll give you this, though. Its going to save on me sending out emails about various
random things that I send email about. Now I'll dump it here, and you have to go looking
for it. Less effort for me, I guess.

I'm still not sure I'm happy about this.

Surrendering to the inevitable...http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,682249a8-7cf2-4c53-a74e-2f6d6cea1795.aspxhttp://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/PermaLink,guid,682249a8-7cf2-4c53-a74e-2f6d6cea1795.aspx
Sun, 16 May 2004 02:46:13 GMT<p>
I can't believe its really come to this. I've always considered blogs a plague, just
the vomit of the masses upon the Internet. Now its my turn to hurl.
</p>
<p>
I didn't give in easily. Oh no, I mocked with the best of them.
</p>
<p>
Pressure from my friends, from the Regional Director's program, from the industry
as a whole... what's up with all this blogging?
</p>
<p>
I'll give you this, though. Its going to save on me sending out emails about various
random things that I send email about. Now I'll dump it here, and you have to go looking
for it. Less effort for me, I guess.
</p>
<p>
I'm still not sure I'm happy about this.
</p>
<img width="0" height="0" src="http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/aggbug.ashx?id=682249a8-7cf2-4c53-a74e-2f6d6cea1795" />http://www.campbellassociates.ca/blog/CommentView,guid,682249a8-7cf2-4c53-a74e-2f6d6cea1795.aspxDrivel